US1606453A - Car-holding mechanism - Google Patents

Description

' Nov. 9 ,1926.

G. N. SIMPSON CAR HOLDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 22. '1924 i4 i. Y

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G. N. SIMPSON om HOLDING MEcHANIsM Filed nec. 22. 1924 Nov. 9 1926.

G. N. SIMPSON CAR HOLDING MEGHANISM Filed nec. 22.

1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Nov. 9, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT carica.

GEORGE N. SIMPSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO CAR-BUMPER & EQUIP- MEN'I COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A. 'CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

CAB-HOLDING- MECHANISM.

This invention relates to improvements in car holding mechanism and is especially adapted for use in connection With any apparatus in Which a car of any kind is dumped by causing it to be inverted or partly inverted. It is so designed as to hold a car firmly clamped on the rails during the dumping operation.

l hare here shown the 'invention as adapted for use on a rotary dump comprising a substantially cylindrical cage rotatably mounted and adapted to be rotated to dump a car in position inside of the cage. It is obvious, however, that without detracting t'rom the spirit of my invention, the saine mechanism or similar mechanism embodying the principles of my invention may be used in connection with any kind of dumping apparatus to hold a car on the rails during the dumping operation.

The mechanism comprises the use ot a plurality of hooks adapted to-be lowered to engage the upper edges of the car body and is so designed that `substantially the same pressure operates on each hook so that each hook descends until it engages the side of the car or some obstruction so that all the hooks are brought into inal engagement whether the sides of the car are of the same height throughout or not. Such lowering of the hooks is accomplished by the use of countervveight' frames, one such frame operating to lower two hooks.

The mechanism is also so constructed that when the car dumper reaches substantially the 90 position. an adjustable clamp operating Weight swings to such a position that the clamp bars attached to the hooks are. lirmly clamped by clamping means. The hooks are therefore held down, in cai' holding position, irrespective of Whether any oi' the Wire operating ropes should break or not.

The foregoing features and other advantages and objects of my invention will appear more .fully and be describedmore in det-ail as I proceed with my specification.

In that form of device embodying the features of my invention shown in the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in end elevation ot' a car dumper equipped clamping means, Fig. 3 is a view taken as indicated by the line 8 of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 1s a. view taken as indicated by the kline 4 of Fig. 1, Fig. 5 is a View taken as indicated by the line 5 of Fig. 1, Fig. 6 is a view taken as indicated by the line 6 of Fig. 1, Fig. 7 is a vien7 taken as indicated by the line 7 ot Fig. 1, Fig. 8 is a View taken as indicated by the line 8 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 9 is a View taken as indicated by the line 9 of Fig. l.

As shown in the drawings, A indicates, in general, a substantially cylindrical cage rotatably mounted in any suitable manner, for example, on the supporting rollers 12, 12. The cage is 1formed in any suitableI manner and suitably braced and strengthened by struts, braces and framing in any desired manner in order to make a rigid structure. The center of the cage A is sufficiently free from bracing and the like in order to permit a car to enter the cage. Arranged Within the cage A are suitable rails 14, 14 forming a track section supported on ties 15 which are supported Within the cage Ain any desired manner, as, for example, on transversely arranged channel members 16. Arranged `at one end of the cage, but not shown in the drawings, is a liXed receiving track and at the other end a iXed discharge track lying in alignment with the track 14, when the cage .is in its normal upright position. In the operation of the. cage, a car is moved from the fixe-d receiving track into the cage A on the rails 14. The cage is then rotated by any suitable means, thus causing inver'- sion of the car and consequent dumping. The cage is then restored to its normal upright position and the car is moved out of the cage onto the fixed discharge. track and carried away. In Fig. 1, the direction of rotation of the cage to cause dumping is indicated by the arrow. The construction o1c the caffe itself. the manner of su J ortino` it and the manner of rotating it, form no part ot the present invention and consequently have not been shown or described in detail. The rage itself may resemble and be supported in the same manner, for example, as the cages CFI such means which will be described more in detail hereinafter,

1n connection with my car holding 1nechanism, 1 provide a plurality of hooks 19, 19 arranged on each side ot the interior otl the cage A, projecting inwardly above the car body and adapted to be lowered into engagement with the car body to hold the car on the rails 1-l when the cage is rotated. These hooks are arranged in pairs, the two hooks ot each pair being opposite to each other. rI "here may be as many pairs as desired; and ordinarily should be atleast one pair at each end ot the car. Since the construction and operation ot each pair of hooks is substan tially the same, I will describe in detail but one pair, it being understood that there is similar mechanism tor each additional pair ot hooks that may be used.

1n connection with each pair ot' hooks there is mounted on the under side oit' the cage A a pair of' curved I beams .20, 2O extend 4 ing substantially 180o around the cage. These I beams are spaced apart so that there will be formed between the same a curved track or guide in which is adapted to slide a curved counterweight trame B. Such counterweighttrame is formed of t-wo curved channel irons 21, 21 suitably joined together a short distance apart in any desired manner, as.v for example, by the curved plates 22, 22 fastened to their flanges. The curved counterweight trame thus made up is slidably supported between the I beams 20. 2() by means ot the rollers 3 mounted on the shafts 21. 24 extending through the channel irons 21, 21. The counterweight trame car-- ries the counterweight 25 as shown, whichis .sailostantiallyv in its lowest position when the cage is in its normal upright position with the hooks 19, 19 raised. The counterweight trame B is about l-jlOO long whereas the `guide within which it slides is about 18()o long. Then the cage A is in the normal upright position shown in Fig. 1, the right hand end ot the counterweight frame as viewed in this ligure) is close to the right hand end ot the guide 20. 1t will be seen, therefore, that when the cage A is rotated in the direction indicated b v the arrow in Fig. 1, that the counterweight will tend to hold tbe counterweight trame stationary so that it will slide around in the guide as the cage rotates. That is, in tact.l the counterweight trame will remain stationary7 and the guide will move with the cage.v thus etl'ecting a relative sliding movement between the counterweight trame and the guide which is attached to the cage. 1t is to be understood, therefore, that hereinafter in speaking of the sliding ot' the trame in the guide, 1 include any such relative sliding movement. Y

Each ot' the hooks 19 is mounted in a suit-- able vertical guide 26 to permit vertical sliding movement. Upon rotation ot' the cage to dump a car, the counterweight traine operates to lower the hooks and upon reverse ro'- tation of the cage back to its normal upright position, the counterweight traine operates to raise the hooks. Upon such reverse rotation the lug 27 attached to the counter-weight trame engages the stationary stop 28 to prevent the counterweight trame from moving wit-h the cage. 'there is one rope used 'lor raising the hooks and one tor lowering them. The counterweight frame B has attached. near one end a sheave 29 and near the other end a sheave 30. The sheave 31 is attached to the cage A and likewise the double sheave 32. 33 indicates a rope adapted to raise the hooks 19. This rope is .attached to one ot the hools at 33a, the point ot attachment be ing to the depending flattened clamping bars 34: which will be descriaed more in detail hereinafter. From the point oi' attachment at 33a, the rope is led upwardly over the sheave 35 mounted near the upper end ot the guide 26, thence downwardly around the sheave 31, thence over the sheave thence around over the rollers 36, 36, thence over the double sheave 32. thence over the sheave 35a near the top of the other guide, and thence attached at its other end to the other hoolr as indicated by 33h. 1t will be seen, therefore, that as the cage comes back to its normal upright position and the lug 27 engages the stop 28, that the sheaves 31 and 29 will separate, thus causing a tension on the rope 33 so that. its two ends 33a and 331 attached to the clamping bars 34 on the hooks 19 will raise the two hooks. The lowering rope is indicated by 37, the same being attached to one ot the hooks indicated at 37a. From this point the rope 37 passes down around thesheave 38, thence over the rollers 35, thence over the sheave 30, thence over the double sheave 32, and thence upwardly where it is attached at 37 to the other hook. 1t will be seen, theretore, that upon rotation o'tl the cage A to dump the car. the counterweight 25 on the counterweight 'trame will tend to hold the 'trame stationary so that as the cage rotates the sheaves 30 and 32 will separate causing;l a. tension on the rope 57 so that its two ends 757 and 37b attached to t-he two hooks will pull these two hooks downwardly. It will be seen that since there is only one rope pulling down both hooks which rope runs over the sheaves that exactly the same pressure will be brought on each ot the two hooks so that each hook will come down positively against the side ol the ear or else will lower until it reaches some obstruction, therefore bringing both hooks lirmly into engagement with the sides of the car whether such sides are oit the same height throughout or not. In other words, the sheaves over which the rope 37 passes act as equalizing sheaves.

The counterweight which brings down the hooks needs to be only heavy enough to lower the hooks positively down on top ot the car through any material which may be piled up in the car; but such counterweight may be made as strong and heavy as desired. In fact, the counterweight may be heavy enough to hold the car in the ear dumper without the use of the clamping arrangement to be hereinafter more particularly describe-d. In such case, such clamping mechanism may be used only for a safety feature. `When the hooks reach the limit of their downward movement, it is obvious that through the remaining rotation ot the cage. the counterweight 25 on its frame will move with the cage. As has been stated before, upon reverse rotation of the cage to bring the car back to its normal upright posit-ion, the counterweight frame and eounterweight will move back with the cage until it reaches the position shown in lFig. l when the lug 27 on the 'frame engages the stop 28 to prevent :turther movement oi the counterweight frame and from this point on the sheaves 31 and 29 will separate to cause a pulling` on the rope 33 to raise the ends 33fL and 33" attached to the hooks, thus raising the hooks.

There is also provided means for positively clamping the hooks 19 in their lowered position. I will now describe this clamping means in detail. Depending from each of the hooks 19 is a pair of clamping bars 34. Attached to each ot' the vertical guides 26 is a clamp, indicated in general by C through which the clamp bars 34 eX- tend. The clamp C is shown best in Figs. 2 and 3. Each clamp comprises a plurality of removable adjustable friction plates 39, 39 arranged in three groups between each pair of which passes one of the clamp bars 34. 40 indicates a back roller pressure plate and 41, a front roller pressureplate. Upon movement of the plates 4() and 41 toward each other it is obvious that the clamp bars 34, 34 will be clamped between the friction plates 39, 39. In front ot the front roller pressure plate is mounted a taper pressure plate 42. The front roller 'pressure plate 41 also carries on its front surface a vertical rail 41a. Lying between the rail 41 and the taper pressure plate 42 is a short shaft 43 having mounted thereon a pair of rollers 44, 44 adapted to roll on the taper pressure plate Between the rollers 44, 44 on the same shaft is a smaller roller 45 adapted to roll on the rail 41a. The shaft 43 is carried on the upper ends of two` flat bars 46., 46 which extend ydownwardly and are pivotally attached at 47 (see Fig. 1) to one arm 48a olf a bell crank 48 pivoted at- 49. The other arm 48b of the hell crank 43 has attached to it a weight .50. Vhen in normal upright position the bell cranks 48, 48 are in :the positions shown in Fig. l and the weights 50, 50 are hanging down. Upon rotation ot' the cage to dump a ear, the weights 50, 50 will tend to remain in their lower positions with 40 to squeeze the friction plates and clamp.

the bars 34 to hold the hooks in their lowered positions. The parts are so designed that this clamping ot the bars will take place at some poi-nt in the rotation oi' the cage soon after the hooks 19 have been brought down into engagement with the car body by ythe counterweight 25. The particular point in the rotation when the Clamps take hold `ean be adjusted by moving the taper pressure plate 42 upwardly or downwardly7 by means of the adjusting screw 5,1.

The friction plates in the clamp and also the pressure plates can raise approximately an inch and a halt without any resistance. It will be noted that there is a certain amount of pla-y between the top ot' the triction plates in the clamp and the stops. This permits the hooks to rise approximately an inch and a half when the load is removed from the car, in order to take care of the spring expansion on the car without putting any additional strain on the hooks or lclamping mechanism, Without putting any additional strain 0n the sides ot the car. This play is permitted by means of the slots52, 52 formed in the plate 41, upward and .downward movement ot said plate being limited by the stops 5.3. The back pressure plate 40 likewise is tree to move upwardly and downwardly by rolling on the rollers 54, 54. The plate 40 is provided with a slotted hole through which extends a stop 55 to likewise limit the upward and downward sliding movement of this plate. The plates are normally hel-d down in their lower positions by means of gravity.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments ot' my invention, it is to be understood that it is capable ot' many modifications. Changes, therefore,`1n the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdisclosed in the appended claims, in which it is my intention to claim all novelty inherent in my invention llt) as broadly as possible in view of the prior art.

iVliat l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A car holding mechanism comprising; a hook adapted to be moved from a raised position above a car body to a lowered position in engagement with a car body; means for moving the hook from its raised position to its lowered position; and means operated by gravity tor positively clamping said hook in its lowered position.l said means comprising a clamp bar attached to the hook, and a clamp adapted to grip said bar upon the hook reaching its lowered position.

A car holding mechanism comprising; a hook adapted to be moved from a raised position above a car body to a lowered position in engagement with a `car body; means for moving the hook from its raised position to its lowered position; and means for clamping the hook in its lowered position, said clamping means being slidably mounted, whereby a raising of the hook through a short distance is permitted while said hook is clamped.

3. A car holding mechanism comprising; a hook adapted to be moved from a raised position above a car body to a lowered positionLV in engagement with a car body; a clamp bar dependingr from said hook; means for moving the hook from its raised position to its lowered position; and clamping means Vadapted to clamp said clamp bar to hold said hook in its lowered position, said clamping means being slidably mounted whereby a raising of the hook a short distance is permitted while said clamp bar is clamped.

4. ,A car holding mechanism comprising; a rotatable cage adapted to hold a car to be dumped; a pair of hooks on said cage adapted to be moved from a raised position above a car body in the cage to a lowered position in engagement with said car body; a frame slidably mounted on said cage; a counterweight on said trame, whereby, upon rotation of said cage, said frame will remain stationary and slide on said cage; and a rope joining said hooks and passing over 'a sheave on the cage and a sheave on the counterweight frame, whereby, upon rotation of said cage with the sliding of the trame thereon, said sheaves will be separated causing a pull on said rope to lower said hooks. 4

5. A car holding mechanism con'iprisiiig; a rotatable cage adapted to hold a car to be dumped; a pair of hooks on said cage adapte'd to be moved from a raised position above a ear body in the cage to alowered position in. engagement with said car body; a frame slidably mounted on said cage; a counterweight on said frame, whereby, upon rotation of said cage; said frame will remain stationary and slide on said cage; a rope joining said hooks and passing over a sheave on the cage and a sheave on the counterweight trame, whereby; upon rotation ot said cage with the sliding o' the frame thereon, said sheaves will be separated causing a pull on said rope to lower said hooks; and means for clamping said hooks in their lowered position.

6. A car holding mechanism comprising; a rotatable cage adapted to hold a car to be dumped; a pair of hooks on said cage adapted to be moved from a raised position above a car body in the cage to a lowered position in engagement with said car body; a trame slidably mounted o n said cage; a counterweight on said frame, whereby, upon rotation ot said cage, aid trame will remain stationary and slide on said cage; a rope joining said hooks and passing over a sheave on the cageand a sheave on the counterweight frame, whereby, upon rotation of said cage with the sliding of the trame thereon, said sheaves will be separated causing a pull on said rope to lower said hooks; and gravity operated means or'clamping said hooks in their lowered position.

7; car holding mechanism comprising; a rotatable cage adapted to hold a car to be dumped; a pair of hooks on said cage adapted to be moved from a raised position above a car body in the cage to a lowered position in engagement with said car body; a frame slidably mounted on said cage; a counterweight on said trame; whereby, upon rotation of said cage, said frame will remain stationary and slide on said cage; and a rope joining said hooks and passing over a sheave on the cage and a sheave on the counterweight frame, whereby, upon rotation of said cage with the sliding of the frame thereon, said sheaves will be separated causing a pull on said rope to lower said hooks, another rope attached to said hooks and passing over a sheave on the cage and a sheave on the counterweight frame whereby sliding movement of said frame on said cage in a reverse direction will cause a pull on said rope to raise said hooks.

8. A car holding mechanism comprising; a rotatable cage adapted to hold a car to be dumped; a pair of hooks on said cage adapted to be moved from a raised position above a car body in the cage to a lowered position in engagement with said car body; al trameV slidably mounted on said cage; a counterweight on said frame, whereby, upon rotation oi said cage, said frame will remain stationary and slide on said cage; a rope joining said hooks and passing over a sheave on the cage and a sheave on the counter'- weight frame, whereby, upon rotation of said cage with the sliding of the frame thereon, said sheaves will be separated causing a pull on said rope to lower said hooks,

another rope attached to said hooks and passing over a sheave on the cage and a sheave on the counterweight frame whereby sliding movement of said frame on said cage in a reverse direction will cause a pull on said rope to raise said hooks; and a lug on said counterweight frame adapted to be engaged by a stop adjacent the cage upon reverse rotation of said cage to cause said reverse sliding movement of said counterweight fra-me on said cage to raise said hooks.

9. A car holding mechanism comprising; a hook adapted to be. moved from a raised position above a car body to a lowered position in engagement with a car body; a clamp bar depending from said hook; means for moving the hook from its raised position to its lowered position; and means for positively clamping said hook in its lowered position, said clamping means including a pair of v'friction plates with the clamp bar extending therebetween, a fiat pressure plate and a taper pressure plate with an antifriction member arranged therebetween, whereby movement of said anti-friction member causes a separation of said pressure plates and a pressing together of said friction plates to clamp the clamp bar therebetween.

l0. A car holding mechanism comprising; a hook adapted to be moved from a raised position above a car body to a lowered position in engagement with a car body; a clamp bar depending from said hook; means for moving the hook from its raised position to its lowered position; means for positively clamping said hook in its lowered position, said clamping means including` a vpair of friction plates with the clamp bar extending therebetween, a fiat pressure plate and a taper pressure plate with an anti-friction member arranged therebetween, whereby movement of said anti-friction member causes a separation of said pressure plates and a pressing together' of said friction plates to clamp the clamp bar therebetween;

and a bell crank, having one arm connected to said anti-friction member and a weight on the other arm, whereby upon rotation of said clamping means said weight operating` said bell crank will cause a movement of said anti-friction member between said pressure plates.

l1. A car holding mechanism comprising; a hook adapted to be moved from a raised position above a car body to a lowered position in engagement with a car body; a clamp bar depending from said hook; means for moving the hook from its raised position te its lowered position; and means for positively clamping said hook in its lowered position, said clamping means includingl a pair of friction plates with the clamp bar extending therebetween, a flat pressure plate and a slidably adjustable taper pressure. plate with an anti-friction member arranged therebetween, whereby movement of said anti-friction member causes a separation of said pressure plates and a pressing together of said friction plates to clamp the clamp bar therebetween.

l2. A car holding mechanism comprising; a hook adapted to be moved from a raised position above a car body to a lowered position in engagement with a car body; a clamp bar depending from said hook; means for moving the hook from its raised position to its lowered position; and means for positively clamping said hook in its lowered position, said clamping means including a pair of friction plates with the clamp bar extending therebetween, a slidably movable flat pressure plate and a slidably adjustable taper pressure plate with an anti-friction member arranged therebetween, whereby movement of said anti-friction member causes a separation of said pressure plates and a pressing together of said friction plates to clamp the clamp bar therebetween.

Witness my hand and seal this 29 day of November, A. D. 1924.

GEORGE N. SIMPSON. [ns]

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